New Daily Driver: 98 Civic EX

[Driven]

I got a 98 Civic EX as a daily driver. I know nothing about these cars. Anyone care to tell me some about it? It's an auto, 2 door EX.

Someone told me it has vtec, I haven't seen anything on the car that says it does so I'm not sure. I've only taken it into the higher RPM's once so far and I didn't notice anything really. If it has vtec, when does it kick in? Anything else I should know about it?

Thanks

[07BlackSS]

Engine Specifications
1.6L 127 hp I4
Horsepower 127 @ 6600 RPM
Torque (lb-ft) 107 @ 5500 RPM
Valves/Valve Configuration 16/SOHC
Displacement (cc) 1590
Bore X Stroke (in.) 2.95 X 3.54
Compression Ratio 9.6:1

yes it has vtec and it engages at 5500 rpms, by the way you either have d16y7 motor or d16y8 motor, I am pretty sure it is a y8. The y8 are arguably the best d16 motor out there! Nice car have fun!

[Driven]

yes it has vtec and it engages at 5500 rpms, by the way you either have d16y7 motor or d16y8 motor, I am pretty sure it is a y8. The y8 are arguably the best d16 motor out there! Nice car have fun!

How do I determine which one it has? Good to know that once I run this thing into the ground I can unload the motor to someone...ha.

Maybe I should can the DSM and start modding this thing!

BTW, thank's for the information!

[07BlackSS]

How do I determine which one it has? Good to know that once I run this thing into the ground I can unload the motor to someone...ha.

Maybe I should can the DSM and start modding this thing!

BTW, thank's for the information!

The best way to tell is to look for the engine code on your engine. Should be right on the left hand side of the exhaust manifold. From there i can tell you what kind of mods to do to make it kinda quick. You can low 14's to high 13's with a turbo and some internals. The best part about civic's are the wieght!

[highmilehatch]

The sky is really the limit with Hondas. You can go very fast, just need money, good parts, installation and tuning.

[07BlackSS]

The sky is really the limit with Hondas. You can go very fast, just need money, good parts, installation and tuning.

Thats why a lot of people mod them. There are a lot of ways to go. A lot engines with the potential of either going all motor of FI. It's all up to you.

[2point4DSM]

You should be able to find the engine code on the label under the hood unless the car has been in some kind of accident and the hood was replaced but the stickers were left off.

[Driven]

The best way to tell is to look for the engine code on your engine. Should be right on the left hand side of the exhaust manifold. From there i can tell you what kind of mods to do to make it kinda quick. You can low 14's to high 13's with a turbo and some internals. The best part about civic's are the wieght!

lol, This won't get any mods. It's strictly a daily driver. I already have two project cars, I don't need another. I bought it because I know how reliable Honda's are.

You should be able to find the engine code on the label under the hood unless the car has been in some kind of accident and the hood was replaced but the stickers were left off.

It was in a light front end wreck, I don't know if the hood was replaced, or just repaired though. Maybe I'll look tomorrow.

[highmilehatch]

Just look on the passenger side of the block. The engine code is right there on the front.

[07BlackSS]

I actually just looked it up...yes its d16y8. Very nice engine!

[Driven]

vtec = teh win

I should get some massive vtec stickers for it!

Maybe a windshield banner

[07BlackSS]

vtec = teh win

I should get some massive vtec stickers for it!

Maybe a windshield banner

:rotfl: hahahahaha Do It!...You Wont!

[CHR!S]

vtec = teh win

I should get some massive vtec stickers for it!

Maybe a windshield banner

make sure you get the sohc vtec stickers if anything, since its basically non-existant

[Gorilla Unit 33]

I should get some massive vtec stickers for it!

Maybe a windshield banner

accord ricer probably has a few laying arround along with some type-r badges LMFAO

[CHR!S]

accord ricer probably has a few laying arround along with some type-r badges LMFAO

no, i bought the remaining sticker & badges he had

[Driven]

Just an update, maybe someone can give me some insight.

Whats the big deal with vtec? I can't even tell this thing has it. I guess theres a TINY change in something at like 5500 RPM's, but it's pretty much negligable. It can be mistaken for a bump in the road. The car is peppy for 127hp, but thats as far as I'll go with that.

Maybe someone can shed light on this part. On the first tank of gas I ran through the car I got ~25mpg, second tank I got 27mpg and this last one I got 28.5mpg. These weren't all with the same commute, but they were all with a pretty even mix of city and hwy driving. I'm certainly not complaining about the mileage going up but I'm just wondering why it is? My only thoughts is that the computer takes feedback on how the car is driven and adjusts the fuel trims accordingly. If the previous driver was a lead foot, maybe that would cause it. Not sure if Hondah's have that capability or not though.

[2point4DSM]

I'm certainly not complaining about the mileage going up but I'm just wondering why it is? My only thoughts is that the computer takes feedback on how the car is driven and adjusts the fuel trims accordingly. If the previous driver was a lead foot, maybe that would cause it. Not sure if Hondah's have that capability or not though.

Most cars have that capability and so does the Civic.

[Driven]

Most cars have that capability and so does the Civic.

So the potential is there that my driving style will continue to yield better mileage?

I am generally pretty easy on daily driven cars. I have been able to get 33mpg hwy and ~24mpg city in the GSX, which is far better than stock, on injectors over double the size of stock. I'm hoping to break over 30mpg in the Civic for my daily commute, which is about 50/50 hwy and city.

[CHR!S]

Whats the big deal with vtec? I can't even tell this thing has it. I guess theres a TINY change in something at like 5500 RPM's, but it's pretty much negligable. It can be mistaken for a bump in the road. The car is peppy for 127hp, but thats as far as I'll go with that.

like i said before, single cam vtec is nothing compared to dual cam vtec

[Driven]

like i said before, single cam vtec is nothing compared to dual cam vtec

And any vtec is nothing compared to boost or displacement. No offense, but I'm far from impressed.

I've driven a couple RSX type S's (previous roommate and his girlfriends) and the only time you "felt" vtec in them was when you dropped out of it after a shift. If it wasn't for their cold air intakes, I doubt you would have known they had it either.

Vtec, all the wait of turbo lag with none of the rewards! haha.

[WRXD]

yeah, my sister has almost that exact same car. 99 civic EX coupe, AT. Its not fast, but I have always wanted to mod it just for fun. If I ever got the chance (and the money) I would love to buy it from her as a DD or to lightly mod.

[Driven]

yeah, my sister has almost that exact same car. 99 civic EX coupe, AT. Its not fast, but I have always wanted to mod it just for fun. If I ever got the chance (and the money) I would love to buy it from her as a DD or to lightly mod.

My new philosophy is never mod a Daily Driver. I now have two vehicles that are not exactly daily driveable because I started modifying them. My truck gets about 6-10mpg and my GSX has a roll bar and 1600cc injectors that make it idle like crap. This civic will stay stock.

[WRXD]

My new philosophy is never mod a Daily Driver. I now have two vehicles that are not exactly daily driveable because I started modifying them. My truck gets about 6-10mpg and my GSX has a roll bar and 1600cc injectors that make it idle like crap. This civic will stay stock.
sounds like the smart way to go

[2point4DSM]

yeah, my sister has almost that exact same car. 99 civic EX coupe, AT. Its not fast, but I have always wanted to mod it just for fun. If I ever got the chance (and the money) I would love to buy it from her as a DD or to lightly mod.

My sister has a 99 civic EX coupe, AT, too. Her's is silver. I put aftermarket wheels on it cause I had some spares sitting around, lol. She ended up bending one pretty good and got it fixed at Carlsson's.

[2point4DSM]

and my GSX has a roll bar and 1600cc injectors that make it idle like crap. This civic will stay stock.

Which 1600s did you get? I haven't installed mine yet but I heard they don't exactly fit like stock. Although I did hear DSMlink and AEM were suppose to control them just fine and that idle would be fine. I guess that is not always true.

[Driven]

Which 1600s did you get? I haven't installed mine yet but I heard they don't exactly fit like stock. Although I did hear DSMlink and AEM were suppose to control them just fine and that idle would be fine. I guess that is not always true.

I have a set of FIC's. They fit awesome, much better than my FIC 950's and PTE 880's did. About the same as my Denso 720's (if my memory is serving me correctly on those last two... lot's of injectors).

As for idle, I do have a few other probems that may be contributing to the poor idle. I can drive the car regularly, but when sitting at a light, it will randomly start to raise the idle and lower it and other random things. It also runs really rich at idle. I do have an exhaust leak right before my o2 sensor though so I have a feeling thats contributing.

And sweet! I have another chick's car! hahaha. Mine's an auto to and RED. I guess it will be easy to sell it to a chick when I'm done with it.

[CHR!S]

Vtec, all the wait of turbo lag with none of the rewards! haha.

...unless its a built motor :mrgreen:

[Driven]

...unless its a built motor :mrgreen:

Then why not just put big cams in it? It's the same thing.

I'm just saying, I don't see why everyone is so into it. Sure, its good for an economy car, but it does NOT make a car all that fast. Unless someone can take me for a ride in a vtec car that can pull up top like my turbo car, I won't be impressed. BTW, my turbo doesn't lag as much as vtec does.

[CHR!S]

Then why not just put big cams in it? It's the same thing.

I'm just saying, I don't see why everyone is so into it. Sure, its good for an economy car, but it does NOT make a car all that fast. Unless someone can take me for a ride in a vtec car that can pull up top like my turbo car, I won't be impressed. BTW, my turbo doesn't lag as much as vtec does.

crap i clicked edit your post instead of quote, so i fixed that...

im not even gonna try to argue with you about this because you have a dsm, so you wouldnt understand why honda people have or build hondas

[HatchSurfer3]

go for a ride in a k swapped eg and you'll understand vtec :thumbup:

Ive heard of them hittin 12s on a stock block

[MrDibbs19]

I got a 98 Civic EX as a daily driver. I know nothing about these cars. Anyone care to tell me some about it? It's an auto, 2 door EX.

Someone told me it has vtec, I haven't seen anything on the car that says it does so I'm not sure. I've only taken it into the higher RPM's once so far and I didn't notice anything really. If it has vtec, when does it kick in? Anything else I should know about it?

Thanks
it has vtec probably... e-vtec though... economical vtec haha you should feel a little more noise at about 5500-6000 range atleast thats how it was in my sisters 2001 EX D17 motor

[CHR!S]

it has vtec probably... e-vtec though... economical vtec haha you should feel a little more noise at about 5500-6000 range atleast thats how it was in my sisters 2001 EX D17 motor

its not e-vtec though. the d17 motor from the 01-05 and the d16y8 from the 96-00 civic are different, but they still are both sohc vtec

D16Y8 1.6L 16V SOHC VTEC-II PGM-FI 1590 '96-'00 Civic EX (EJ) USDM 127@6600 107@5500 9.6:1
as opposed to

D17A2 1.7L 16V SOHC VTEC-II PGM-FI 1668 '01-'02 Civic EX USDM 127@6300 117@4800 9.49:1

[Driven]

crap i clicked edit your post instead of quote, so i fixed that...

im not even gonna try to argue with you about this because you have a dsm, so you wouldnt understand why honda people have or build hondas

Please explain to me then. I have a very open mind about things, I'm just saying I'm not at all impressed so far. Yes, I own a DSM, I also own a 1970 truck and come from a long list of Chevy's. I used to hate imports all together and now I wouldn't give up my DSM for anything. Teach me the way's of the honda!

Here's my understanding of the honda, and please feel free to correct me. Honda builds some of the MOST reliable cars on the road. Parents know this so they encourage their kids to get Honda's as they make good starter cars. The younger generation that was getting Honda's decided to work with what they got, so they started modifying them. Once the market was there, big companies started making parts for them and you now have tons of parts available for these economy cars to make them relatively quick. My feeling however is, it was still built as an economy car and vtec alone will never give me the feeling of my T67 spooling up. Please learn me.

[highmilehatch]

Vtec cylinder heads are designed for high rpm breathing. They flow much more cfm than their non-vtec counterparts. Honda designed it so there would be no compromise between low-speed torque and high-end horsepower. The camshafts have three lobes per cylinder, per side (intake, exh.). The primary lobes are more mild while the secondary lobe (operates based on oil pressure, water temp, rpm) is more aggressive. This allows a completely different cam profile above 5 grand (more airflow), while retaining good driveability and low end torque on the primary lobes. If the cam profiles were only designed wtih Vtec spec, this would hurt driveability and the engine would be a slug below 5 grand.

Given the fact that the Vtec heads are designed this way, (high rpm breathing) its only obvious that the effects of turbocharging would multiply the high rpm output. You can typically see a 30-40 whp increase by replacing a non-Vtec head with a Vtec, with a properly sized turbocharger, at the same boost level. I'm speaking in terms of B-series. Also, the Vtec powerband carries the torque all the way to redline, whereas typical non-vtec powerbands (LS) tend to drop off around 6k. This is because the clyinder head cannot breathe up top, due to cylinder head, cam, and intake manifold design.

So all in all, is Vtec better? Better, yes if you want to have more power potential, and increased torque at high rpm which is what you want in drag racing. Better on the wallet, not really. A complete GSR swap is typically twice the amount of an LS swap. The old saying "you get what you pay for" applies here. It really depends how fast you want to go. You don't "need" vtec to go fast, but it certainly helps. A turbocharged stock LS engine in a CRX will make over 300whp and hit 11's with a good driver. Slap on a Vtec head to that same setup, and you will make more power. From an engineering standpoint, yes, Vtec is better.

[04 Turbo Spec]

The sky is really the limit with Hondas. You can go very fast, just need money, good parts, installation and tuning.

that rings true for any car

[Milano95Teg]

h22's vtec is sick. it kicks in. i noticed that in the rsx's and the new si's that vtec isnt the same. but in the preludes it hit hard.

[CHR!S]

h22's vtec is sick. it kicks in. i noticed that in the rsx's and the new si's that vtec isnt the same. but in the preludes it hit hard.

off topic...